Thread: Time Runs Out on DREAM Act

Time Runs Out on DREAM Act

By Elizabeth Llorente

Published December 18, 2010

Dec. 7, 2010: Immigrants parents, students and others participate in a candle-light procession and vigil in support of the Federal Dream Act in downtown Los Angeles.

A bill that would have paved the way for undocumented kids to obtain U.S. citizenship was tabled today by the Senate, which voted 55 to 41 to set it aside.

The DREAM Act, which stands for the Development Relief and Education for Alien Minors, would have provided a road to citizenship for children who are under 16, have lived in the country for at least five years, and commit to two years of college or the military. Students also could have attended college at in-state tuition, which tend to be far less expensive than out-of-state costs.

The bill was seen by advocates as the best hope for legislation that would help legalize some of the nation's estimated 11 million undocumented residents.

Repeated efforts over the years to pass a comprehensive immigration reform measure have failed.

Political leaders and immigrants rights groups who wanted a path to legalization for undocumented immigrants who met a strict set of criteria then narrowed their focus, putting their energy behind the DREAM Act. They believed the DREAM Act had a better chance of getting the support of the American public because it pivoted on the notion of children penalized because of the actions of their parents.

The bill had passed the House of Representatives. Democrats were eager to pass the legislation through the lame-duck session, just before Republicans take control of the House of Representatives next month.

Republicans and anti-immigrant groups fiercely opposed the measure, dismissing it as a form of amnesty for law-breakers. American residents, they have argued, should not have to foot the bill – subsidizing college tuition, for example – so that young immigrants without documents could prosper.

The measure, a political football for lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, became a bargaining chip this month in discussions that ultimately led to President Obama's extension of the so-called Bush tax cuts.

Obama fully supported the DREAM Act. Members of his administration, including his director of White House intergovernmental affairs and a top Pentagon official, touted the benefits of passing the bill, citing, among other benefits, its potential to add to the pool of recruits for the armed forces.

Supporters also argued that children should not be punished for the decision of their parents to live in the United States illegally. They said the immigration-related barriers to higher education and employment for youth who are educated and bred in the United States amounted to wasted potential for the country.

The defeat is a crushing blow for the president, whom pro-immigrant Hispanics have criticized for not following through on his campaign promise to make comprehensive immigration reform a top priority.

Read more: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politi ... z18Ua5SDYz

"It shore did!"

A crushing blow to the President No... It Is a huge victory for all LEGAL U.S. citizens that want our borders secured,and Illegal Immigration STOPPED

Guess this didn't work:



But I do like the tape idea.

Originally Posted by ReggieMay

Guess this didn't work:



But I do like the tape idea.

LMAO!

The defeat is a crushing blow for the president....

Originally Posted by stevetheroofer

They said the immigration-related barriers to higher education and employment for youth who are educated and bred in the United States amounted to wasted potential.
"It shore did!"

What amounts to wasted potential in this country is passing a garbage bill like the DREAM act so that American college graduates who already have a hard enough time as it is with the flooded job market, have to contend with millions of illegals being legalized and being dropped like a bomb on the job market!!!!!!